Published: February 08, 2008 11:30 pm            

Tigers roar past Bobcats, 66-33

ORANGEFIELD — The Orangefield Bobcats’ playoff chances will be staring them in the face Tuesday night when they travel to face the Jasper Bulldogs.

On Friday it was Silsbee downing the Bobcats, 66-33, as the Tigers (23-6, 12-1) forced 27 turnovers on the night in Bobcat Gym.

The Bobcats (20-9, 8-5) turned the ball over 10 times in a critical second period that saw the Tigers outscore the home team 12-2.

“I am very upset about the turnovers,” Orangefield Coach Rea Wrinkle said. “You cannot turn the ball over 20-something times against a good team or even a bad team and expect to win. You certainly cannot do it against Silsbee.”

Orangefield led 9-5 midway in the first after a Derrick Evans three pointer.

Silsbee would then go on a 8-0 run to finish the first period and led 13-9 heading into the second.

After another Tigers’ bucket to open the second, Orangefield senior Jeremy Granger sank a free throw to make it 15-10.

The five points would be as close as the Bobcats would get the rest of the night as Silsbee went on a 10-0 run fired up by electric guard Douglas Howard who scored six in the run.

Howard would finish with 16 points to lead all players while teammate DC Stallworth added 13 and Shannon Robinson put in 12.

Granger ended the run right before halftime with another free throw to make the score 25-11 at the break.

Granger led the Bobcats with nine points and eight rebounds while Evans finished with seven on the night.

Another area of concern for Wrinkle besides the turnovers was the poor free throw shooting the Bobcats put up Friday night by going 8-for-22 from the line.

“You can’t do that against Silsbee,” Wrinkle said.

Silsbee actually started the game off slow on the offensive side and then took advantage of mistakes by Orangefield.

Howard and Robinson especially benefited for the easy break-away points.

“They (Tigers) were swarming on defense,” Wrinkle added. “You try to contain Howard and Robinson. We started to have bad shot selection and then we started to turn the ball over. That lead to them having so many shot opportunities.”

The Tigers outscored the Bobcats 15-11 in the third to take a 40-22 lead into the game’s final eight minutes.

Orangefield could not get much going in the fourth as the Tigers outscored the Bobcats 26-11 in the frame.

Now the Bobcats turn their eyes to Jasper and the awaiting Bulldogs.

“We have to win on Tuesday,” Wrinkle said. “Our season comes down to one game. All year you just want a chance to be there at the end. That is what you play all these games for.”

In other Bobcat news senior Ryan Granger, who suffered a knee injury early this football season, started Friday night for the first time this basketball season.

Granger scored a point and had two rebounds to go with an assist. He was very active, even getting on the floor on several occassions to fight for a loose ball.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.